miyoNorthern Flicker (male)
Northern Flicker (female)
jendefer@miyotehew Really nice photos. We don't often see Northern Flickers in our neighborhood, but last week we saw two, and they suddenly made our Gila Woodpeckers seem small.
@miyotehew Ah! I am way down in Arizona. They only show up in my area in the winter. Looks like they are year-round for you.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/maps-range
Northern Flicker Range Map, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Northern Flickers are large, brown woodpeckers with a gentle expression and handsome black-scalloped plumage. On walks, don’t be surprised if you scare one up from the ground. It’s not where you’d expect to find a woodpecker, but flickers eat mainly ants and beetles, digging for them with their unusual, slightly curved bill. When they fly you’ll see a flash of color in the wings – yellow if you’re in the East, red if you’re in the West – and a bright white flash on the rump.
Ive seen these 'red shafted' ones in Vancouver always, no yellow. It's interesting the variation in color on the tail and cheeks down the west coast. These birds have pizzzaaz!
BrownsBay@miyotehew @jendefer Yep, red-shafted are a west coast bird. I've seen intergrades here at my suet feeder showing a red crescent on the nape, which all yellow-shafted have.